Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Wordless Wednesday. Olden, Norway.

I used to do a Wordless Wednesday post most weeks for my boys, then after they both left I started my Memories for them on their blog. I often thought about doing the odd Wordless post now and again but it didn't feel right to do it there as I only post on Fridays with their Flashback memories.
Then I had my light bulb moment and thought about my very under used Holiday Photos blog, so this is my first Wordless Wednesday here.
Click to enlarge.


Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Norwegian Fjords June 2015 - Alesund.

After leaving the Lofoten Islands we had a day at sea heading south again. Our next port was Alesund.
Fjellstua viewpoint.

Alesund harbour.

The ship docks right in the town which makes it very convenient to visit.
We saw there was an open top bus doing a tour of the area so we decided to get on.
The following are photos taken from the top of the bus.




The sky was blue and the fjord even bluer, but I can assure you that upstairs on that open air bus, we were freezing!

The beautiful Fjellstua viewpoint to looking down on Alesund and the fjord.




The fisher boy statue in Pharmacy Square. The brown building is the Art Nouveau Centre where visitors can learn more about the great fire when most of the town was burnt and since rebuilt.

Alesund church which was built in 1909 to replace the original church which was destroyed in the Great Town Fire of 1904.

The yellow building in the background which looks like a castle is actually a school!


So that's it for our fjords cruise during the summer solstice.
It was a strange feeling to go outside at night and see the sun still shining. Now I want to go back in the winter months to see the Northern Lights!

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Norwegian Fjords June 2015 - Gradval, Lofoten Islands.

Our next port was Gradval in the Lofoten Islands which was a Tender port.

We watched the boats while we waited for the next tender boat to take us ashore.

Even though we had gone further north into the Arctic Circle, the weather had become a little warmer and much sunnier.



When we got ashore we walked through the village and over to some moorland.

The scenery as everywhere was beautiful.



I found these tiny Alpine like flowers which I found were Arctic Starflowers.

Hare's Tail which looked like balls of cotton.

As we were walking back towards the pier the clouds came right down on the mountain and it looked like we might be getting wet.

They lifted as fast as they came though and it was a return of the sunshine.




As we sat on the pier waiting for a tender, we watched them ferrying people forward and back.

At last it was our turn to return after a lovely day exploring the island.

Monday, December 3, 2018

Norwegian Fjords June 2015 - Tromso Ashore.

Our first stop when going ashore was to the Polar Museum which is part of the University of Tromso museum.
This museum shows how life was like in the Arctic and the way the Sami lived.







Bearded Seals.



The harbour.
After walking around the harbour where the museum is situated, we next went to the Arctic Cathedral which can be seen in the distance.

The Cathedral is very striking with it's unusual shape. To find out more about it go to here.



Tromso cantilever road bridge.


Once we had crossed the bridge we had some time to walk around the older part of the city.



It is reassuring to see your ship is still docked in the distance!


Snow on the mountains from the snowfall two days before our arrival.


And then it was time to head off again, this time to the Lofoten Islands.


The Midnight Sun.
Both of these photos were taken at a minute to midnight and the sun was well above the horizon sitting above a bank of cloud.
The first was taken using the sunset setting and the second using the auto setting.